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Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex among the Youth a Study of University of

Maiduguri

Article  in  IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science · January 2013

DOI: 10.9790/0837-01011017

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IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS)
Volume 10, Issue 1 (Mar. - Apr. 2013), PP 10-17
e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845.
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Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex among the Youth a Study of

University of Maiduguri
Dr Musa Abdullahi PhD & Abdullah Umar
Abstract: This study was conducted in the University of Maiduguri. One of the Goals of the MDGs is to reduce
HIV/STIs among the general population in the society. In this context it is important to understand why youth
still engage in risky sexual behavior and the effects it has on them. The study focused on the effects and
consequence of engaging in pre-marital sex among the youth of University of Maiduguri. The data were
collected using multi methods — Survey, Focus Group Discussion and review of University security records.
The stratified random technique was used to draw respondents from a sampling frame sourced from the
University Information Management Unit. The sample size is 318 (286 for the survey and 32 focus group
participants) The SSPS software was used in the analysis of the data. Findings revealed that pre-marital sex
among the youth in the University has a number of effects and consequences on the youth. Some of the
consequences include HIV/STIs, Regrets, Unwanted pregnancy, loss of self respect, loss of family support,
Depression and victims to rituals among others. The study recommends Sex Education courses in all institutions
of learning. Government should also partner with NGOs and embark on advocacy and campaign on the need to
sustain sex free life and dicourage advocates of use of condom with sex. The University authority should live up
to its responsibility as a custodian of youth in its care. Effective supervision of both academic and social life of
youth in the University by the authorities and regular conferences and workshops by the authority, Students
Union, ASUU, NASU and other associations on the Dangers of Pre-marital Sex, are some of the
recommendations put forward.

I. Introduction
One of the Goals of the MDGs is combating HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases among the general
population in the society by 2015. In this context it is important to understand why youth still engage in risky
sexual behavior and examine the effects it has on them. The university, as a centre for character and learning,
the society expects the university to inculcate the moral values of the larger society especially in promoting
desirable sexual behavior. This is to be achieved through teaching and learning, on the one hand and through
rules and regulations, on the other. Students learn new behavior in order to adjust to the demands of the new
environment. Each student comes to the university with his/her own perspective of life, relative to his social
background. Because of the multi ethnic and social nature of the University environment, there is thus the
likelihood of finding carriers of deviant norms who possibly teach others in the process of daily association.
Students, according to the Dean Students Affairs of University of Maiduguri, Ibrahirn (2003), suffer
from physical and emotional pains of sexual assaults, most of which were not reported to school authorities for
reasons only known to them. The attitude of not reporting the acts further exposes other students to greater
danger and health risks. It equally encourages the emergence of pre-marital sex in institutions of learning.
Pre-marital sex is an act of deviation. A deviant act is used here to refer to departure from societal
norms that attract social disapproval which is likely to elicit negative sanctions. When students of different ages,
nationalities, ethnic and religious backgrounds and status are brought together in a higher institutions
environment, opportunities exist for sexual relationship. Pre-marital sex is a violation of sexual norms and
values of a society. Abdullahi (2004) explained that values are conceptions of what is right (good, desirable and
proper) and wrong (bad, undesirable and improper). The Hausa culture, he further observed, values the
institution of the family with proscriptive norms that prohibit pre-marital sex like pre-marital sex.
The concepts of a University student and University education have changed over the years. Students,
Ibrahim (2003) observed, seem to value free sexual life on campus. Unlike students of the 1970s and l980s,
most students in present day Nigeria are likely to be of the view that life has little or no meaning without sexual
interaction on campus. Fromm (1991) views the modern world as being strangulated between „„robotism and
humanism‟‟ life, he observed has no meaning; there is no joy, no reality, and no faith. In a situation like this,
individuals resort to the comforts of the body, particularly in a university environment. Moreover, universities in
modern Nigeria seem to have lost their focus in (lie area of student‟s discipline.
The value system of most Nigerian societies has created a barrier between parents and their children in
matters relating to sex. In most societies, it is a taboo to talk about sex. Our communities and religious leaders
preach daily against what is called „bad behaviors‟ like alcoholism, corruption, hoarding, and etc but seldom talk
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Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex Among The Youth. A Study of University of Maiduguri
about sex education. It is very easy to talk to the student to abstain from sex until marriage, but within the
university environment it will be difficult to enforce such values because of the multiethnic and social nature of
the environment. Societies have developed and shaped their value systems upon which social life is regulated.
Societal norms, that is, codes of behavior which the members of the society are expected to adhere enforce most
of the values. The regulation of social values is the responsibility of the family first, then the extended social
networks like educational institutions. Values are fundamental to our attitudes and dispositions towards issues
and things.
The objective of this paper therefore is to explain the consequences of pre-marital sex among the youth
of the University of Maiduguri. The data were collected using multi methods — Survey, Focus Group
Discussion and review of University security records. The stratified random technique was used to draw
respondents from a sampling frame sourced from the University Information Management Unit. The sample size
is 318 (286 for the survey and 32 focus group participants)

II. Some Explanations

Maiduguri is a predominantly Muslim community with strict adherences to religious moral values.
Issues relating to sex activities are seriously monitored and great emphasis is attached to the need to abstain
from sexual activities outside marriage. Permissible sexual relation is restricted to marriage life cohabitation.
The Maiduguri community, like in most northern societies, encourages its unmarried population not to engage in
any form of sexual activity before marriage. Great value is attached to virginity of both males and females. Any
girl for instance, that was found to he virgin by her husband is highly respected in the community which sees her
as a symbol of purity. From birth to adulthood, parents teach and monitor their children to abstain from any
form of sexual activity. The society in some cases sanctions violators of sexual norms. Sexual acts like pre-
marital sex, adultery, rape, homosexuality, smooching and the like are considered abomination and against
social norms. Other related activities like watching naked bodies, exposing of sexually attractive organs like the
female breast are seriously condemned. The community does not allow any form of body exposure that will
attract the eyes or the attention of the public. It was for this reason that greater value is attached to decent
dressing and control of sexual urge. Men and women are expected to put on dress that will not show any part of
their sexual organs. Men to put on long dress with trousers, while women to put on dress that will cover all the
body, except the face, feet and hands. Any dress contrary to this is considered abnormal and it amounts to a kind
of exhibitionism (Aji. 2004).
Sexual control is practiced for the sake of the larger society and the individuals. Davidmarin, (1998)
argued that yhe family is the basic unit of society and its strength depends on the ability of the partners to
control sexual urge which distinguishes humans from animals. Human sexual behavior, like many other kinds of
activity engaged in by human beings is generally governed by social rules that are culturally specific and vary
widely (Wikipedia, 2007).
The existence of pre-marital sex among the youth in the university environment can be attributed to a
variety of factors. These factors include economic factors, social issues, peer pressure, the mass media
influence, and search for academic advantage.
The existence of pre-marital sex among students seems to be rampant in Nigerian institutions of higher
learning. Warner (1973) observed that sex before marriage is seen as normal and a pleasurable satisfaction
which young adults experience. The university environment allows freer sexual activities and this is against
moral values of the community. The University is witnessing he prevalence of pre-marital sex, homosexuals,
rape and adultery in the campus. Public out-cry against these vices is increasing and significant members of tile
community felt that something has to be done. Odoemelan (1996) observed that inappropriate sexual behaviors
and consequences of such behaviors constitute enormous problems.

III. Some Related Literature

Some of the literature on sexual behavior failed to establish the fact that some of our sexual activities
like pre-marital sex, adultery and homosexuality constitute a serious social problem and a threat to civilization.
lkpe (2003), Twa-Twa (1997) and Johnson (2007), studied and reported the existence of sexual activities among
undergraduates and they all advise on the need to use condom. Lack of condemnation of such vices as deviant
acts by some scholars encourages pre-marital sex. Most writers on sexual behavior end up as interventionist
strategists to the sponsors of their study by encouraging the use of condom and other methods for safe sex.
Sex relations appear as one of the most important aspects of students‟ life in the university. Members
of the larger society are no exception either. Sex, Afi (1977) argues, is crucial to social survival. True as the
statement may be, it is equally important to note that sex is bound up in deep psychological gratifications.
Societal norms and values have placed restrictions and conditions for engaging in sexual act. By such normative
restrictions, significant members of the population will be deprived of sexual gratifications. It was for the
interest of the individual and the society at large that sexual relationships sanctioned and regulated. Sex is

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Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex Among The Youth. A Study of University of Maiduguri
capable of impelling individuals toward behavior which may disrupt the relationship upon which social life
depends.
Robertson (I989) observes that societies of the West have shrouded sexual behavior in myth, taboo and
ignorance. Research interest into the field of sex began in the late I940s to early 1950s. It was Kinsey (1948)
who first carried out elaborate investigation on sexual behavior, tie faced condemnation from many religious
organizations and media. In Africa, most of our traditional leaders and parents still find it difficult to publicly
speak on sexual practices, despite its seeming implications to youths. This attitude has led our children to
acquire sexual knowledge from the media and peers, particularly in a learning environment.
Robertson further argued that sex in itself may not he immoral, but the circumstance under which the
act is carried out could be immoral. When the sex act is carried out outside the conventional sexual norms of the
society or the community, it becomes a deviant act and inappropriate when measured against the general
standards of behavior. Robertson‟s view is shared by Kuria (1987) and Clinard and Meier, (1998). Clinard and
Meier argue that sex is a natural part of life and is important to the society, because it perpetuates species.
Potts arid Selman (1979) argued that adolescent sexuality was not a problem in Africa. But now, it is.
The society defines maturity rites of passage. But it is not the case in contemporary times. Adolescents are
carrying pregnancies and terminating pregnancies when they are yet to marry. Sex and reproductive behavior,
they argue, are molded by cultural and social forces but moral commandments regarding sex tend to be cut deep
on the „tablets‟ of social behavior.

IV. Consequences Of Pre-Marital Sex

In this section an attempt is made analyze identified consequences of pre-marital sex. These
consequences include, the feeling of regret, drug use, unwanted pregnancy, bondage, loss of self aspect,
corruption of character, depression, fear of future commitment, STDs, feeling of guilt, poor academic
performance, loss of family/parents support and victim of rituals,. A level four male discussant said;
Pre-marital sex may have its social and economic
benefits, but at the end of it comes a bitter experience.
Female students are more vulnerable than male students
because female student in some instances with the
possibility of marriage perhaps in the future. They are
more likely to see sex as a sign of commitment in the
relationship.

Table 1: Respondents Distribution on the Consequences of Pre-marital sex

Category of Response Stated Not Stated Total
Regret 123(43%) 163 (57%) 286(100%)
Drug Abuse 92 (32%) 194 (68%) 286(100%)
Unwanted Pregnancy 194 (68%) 92 (32%) 286(100%)
Bondage 66 (23%) 220 (77%) 286(100%)
Loss of self Respect 163 (57%) 123 (43%) 286(100%)
Corruption of Character 203 (7 1%) 83(29%) 286(100%)
Depression 194 (68%) 92 (32%) 286(100%)
Fear of Future Commitment 106 (37%) 180 (63%) 286(100%)
Sexually Transmitted Infections 266 (93%) 20 (7%) 286(100%)
Guilt 109 (38%) 177 (62%) 286(100%)
Poor Academic Performance 80 (28%) 206 (72%) 286(100%)
Loss of Family and Parental Support 72 (25%) 2 14 (75%) 286(100%)
Victims of Ritualists 149 (52%) 137 (48%) 286(100%)
Figures in bracket are percentage

V. Regret
The findings of the study reveals that 43% of the respondents posited that sex deviant acts can lead to
regrets. Discussants argued that most of the upper level students regret their premarital sexual acts practiced
when they were at lower academic levels. A level two female discussant explained that she regretted dating a
final year student who took the best part of her life and dumped her for another girl. Another female discussant
said.
I am young but I feel old whenever I remember the day I lost my virginity to a member only social
club whom I met that very day.
Another female discussant narrated the story of her room mate and a close friend thus:

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Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex Among The Youth. A Study of University of Maiduguri
She never had a boyfriend before coming to the university. She was excited when one of the „happening guys‟ on
campus asked her out for a picnic at Lake Alau. After two weeks, the boy asked her to have sex. 1 discouraged
her and she was reluctant. He was persistent and she slept with him. That was the last. time she saw him. She is
now regretting even coining to the university.

VI. Drug Abuse

Drug use among male students is very common according to the respondents. It is also harmful and
needs the authority‟s attention explained by respondents. The study reveals that 32% of respondents stated that
pre-marital sex can lead to drug use. Discussants argued that various drugs were used by students for enhancing
sex performance which has made some of the students become drug addicts. In some cases students take drugs
after their relationship has broken. A male discussant explains:
Most students these days go on alcohol, hard drugs and smoking.. .they do not really want to, but to
ease sorrow of sex acts and disappointments, they have to take it. They manage their regrets.
A male discussant explained that his room mate once got drunk deliberately in order to have sex with
the girlfriend of their room mate who always brought different girls and allow them to watch him through the
window. Since that day according to him, the student developed a drinking habit and he has become addicted to
it.
VII. Unwanted Pregnancy
The findings of the study show that 68% of respondents posited that engaging in premarital sex can
lead to unwanted pregnancy. Discussants argued that there were cases where students dropped out of University
of Maiduguri because of being pregnant or were caught in the attempt to abort pregnancy or abandon babies on
campus. The practice of sharp-sharp sex was said to contribute for some unwanted pregnancies among students.
Sharp-Sharp is carried out mostly in party venues and some of them are drunk and engage in sex without
condom, and with non dating persons, as argued by most of the discussants across groups.

VIII. Bondage
This is a situation where a student (male or female) is expected to always have sex on regular bases
with an individual because the person is in possession of ones secret or knows one‟s weaknesses. Table I shows
that 23% of the respondents posited pre-marital sex can lead to bondage. A female discussant who brought a
letter during the FGD session, requested if she can read a letter her friend wrote her. She summarized the
content of the letter as follows:
...since the first night, he expects us to have sex on every date, as if we are married. When I do not feel
like doing it, he will insist on oral and we end tip in an argument. It‟s like I owe it to him. I do not think he
loves me. I know deep down that I am not in love with him either and this makes me feel cheap. It is like a bond
between us I can‟t help myself...

IX. Loss of Self Respect

The study shows that 57% of the respondents posited that engaging in pre-marital sex leads to loss of
sell respect. A level two female discussant explained that when a person falls so low and allow him/her to he
used as a sex object he/she will certainly lose self respect and personality in the eyes of both person and the
larger society. Loss of self respect also comes when students happen to contacts STDS or was raped in the case
of female students. Female students who engage in group sex, sharp-sharp sex or being watched by others while
having sex, usually suffer a loss of self-esteem. Students who had abortion or got pregnant equally suffer from
loss of self-esteem. A male discussant explained that he was very much in love with a girl and he was ready to
do anything to have her as future partner, but lie changed his mind when he had sex with her. He said: „
I finally got her and had sex with her, actually it was in my car; my - feelings for her diminished, I
thought she was one of the hottest and difficult to get I figured out that there had probably been a dozen guys
before me. That realization took away all the respect I had for her I couldn‟t respect someone who gave in
easily as she did in my car.

X. Corruption of Character
This study shows that engaging in pre-marital sex can lead to corruption of a person‟s character. The
study reveals that 71% of the respondents opined so, and as some of them further explained that it diminishes
good virtues such as respect, honesty, care, fairness and self control. A level three male discussant says:
When individuals treat others as sex objects and exploit them for their own pleasure, they not only lose self
respect, they corrupt their character and debase their sexuality in the process. Students lie about themselves and
their family backgrounds if they think it will help them have sex. Sex frequently corrupts character by leading
people to tell lies.
Apart from that, discussants observed that the GSM handset further facilitates lies and were equally
used to send sexual images to each other, or send a text message to some one requesting him or her for sex. It is
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Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex Among The Youth. A Study of University of Maiduguri
common to hear student saying “I want to fuck”, “fuck your ass‟. “bitch” etc; these are elements of corrupted
character on campus. A female discussant confesses:
I was sent a male organ text by a friend with a message „do you mind‟ lie cannot tell me this directly and he
cannot zip down his trouser to show his organ, but with GSM, it is easily done and it corrupts a person.
In most pre-marital sex situations, sex is not tied to love and commitment. This undermines character
by subverting self-control, respect and responsibility. Thus, sex that is supposed to be practiced normatively has
lost its meaning. and is trivialized and degraded.

XI. Depression
Survey data revealed that most victims of rape, those who had unwanted pregnancies and those caught
in acts of sodomy tend to be more depressed than others who engage in premarital sex. Table 4.7 shows that
68% of the respondents believed that engaging in premarital sex can lead to depression. Some of respondents
indicated that depression as a result of pre-marital sex is particularly associated with students who engage iii sex
for economic reasons, love reasons and influence reasons. A female discussant said that engaging in sex for the
sake of money is very depressing because in some cases one is treated like animal because they pay for it. A
male discussant explained further:
It diminishes one (a person) because before one starts growing old, it starts showing on his his/her
face. They might get involved in an activity where they get infected with viruses. Sometimes they do sleep with
snakes and other animals for rituals. This and so many other things make them not to be able to give birth again.
They will end up having no children and that is very depressing.
The emotional stress of broken sexual relationships also causes depression. Young students tend to
invest more in a relationship that seem real at first, and then suffer deeper pain and hurt when the relationship
comes to an end. In some cases drug use and alcohol consumption were said to he coping strategies or remedies
for the depression the individual was passing through.

XII. Fear of Future Commitment

The table shows that 37% of the respondents posited that engaging in pre-marital sex may lead to fear
of future commitment to other relationships. Smooth sex relations can turn bad. Sex can have another kind of
emotional consequence. Pre-marital sex relationships can bring bitter experience in the attempt to form normal
sex relationships. Emotions like anger, impatience. Jealousy and selfishness surfaces particularly when one
partner feels he/she has had enough of it. A male discussant explained how his friend was dumped by a sugar
mummy and ever since, he kept his distance from women and even vowed not to get married. According to a
male discussant:
She dumped him by the time she satisfied all her needs. He is addicted to good material things and now
finds life unbearable and he took an oath never to have any relationship with any woman again.

XIII. HIV/STIs
The study shows that 93% of respondents posited that engaging in pre-marital sex can lead to
HIV/STls. Majority of the discussants in the FGD groups argued along the same hue and identified some of the
STIs which include herpes, (sores and painful swelling of genital), gonorrhea, (pelvic pain and painful urination)
and HIV (a virus that kills immune system) which are in existence among students. They further explained that
those who engage in group sex, sharp-sharp sex and sodomy account for a greater proportion of STI‟s victims.
(„Chlamydia and gonorrhea, a level four female discussant argued are common with female students. These
diseases are life-threatening, painful and can cause infertility.

XIV. Guilt
The Table also shows that 38% of the respondents posited that engaging in pre-marital sex can lead to
guilt. In as much as a sexual act can be pleasurable, it can also be the source of‟ deep wounds and with feeling
of guilt. A level four female discussant expatiates:
Guilt about past sexual act ends up crippling people when they become parents and most often they become
very strict on their children‟s‟ sex behavior, which in turn makes such children curious about sex acts and thus
easily get involved when the opportunity comes up.
Guilt is a form of regret, a feeling that a person has gone against his/her conscience or has done
something morally wrong. Guilt comes as a result of the fear that parents are aware of ones sexual acts or would
be upset if they knew one is having sex. Guilt may also stem from one‟s religious convictions. Such students,
who were frustrated and stopped engaging in pre-marital sex, become “born again” sisters and brothers. A male
discussant explained that his friend become a devoted Christian and always preaches against pre-marital sex
when his girl friend told him that she was pregnant for him. A female discussant said:

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Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex Among The Youth. A Study of University of Maiduguri
This first day I did it, I went home in shame and I could not be able to see my mother‟s eye for the first
time because of the guilt in me. She knew at last as a woman, but afraid of my dad and the outcome of my
action. I am still nursing the guilt in me. It‟s terrible when the guilt comes.

XV. Poor Academic Performance

The table shows that 28% of the respondents posited that engaging in pre-marital sex can lead to poor
academic performance. Majority of the discussants argued that engaging in pre-marital sex can affect academic
performance. They further argued that most of those who regularly engage in pre-marital sex arc withdrawn
from other departments earlier, while others were repealing. They run social clubs and are always after pleasures
and they are not much bright, but they pollute others who may not be dull. A male discussant explained his
friend‟s experience, which most of the discussants in the group agreed was a very common experience.
According to him:
When he had no girl friend he was very good academically. But when lie found a girl he dedicated
most of his time for her. At the end of the session, his CGPA was low last session. We were preparing for exam
when somebody called him to come and see something. On getting there he saw his girlfriend, playing with
another man. lie came back and told me and lie was disturbed. He failed most of his course that session. lIe is
carrying over the courses and regretting ever meeting that girl.

XVI. Loss of Family Support

Table I shows that 25% of the respondents opined that engaging in pre-marital sex may lead to loss of
Parents support. Some respondents explain that SOC parents may reduce support be their sexually wayward
children. Discussants equally argued that when parents are aware that their son/daughter engage in pie-marital
sex or become aware of their being pregnant or hive contacted STIs, parents withdraw their support. Once
parental support is withdrawn, the student becomes depressed, stressed and isolated from the campus
community.
There was an incidence in 1999 when a female student was rejected by her parents for having
unwanted pregnancy. She was also rejected by the boyfriend on the pretext that he is not sure whether he was
responsible for the pregnancy. The students‟ union adviser had to take her to his house for three months before
her relatives agreed to accommodate her and the baby. Majority of the discussants in the FGD groups observed
that many female students and a few male students have lost family support as a result of their pre-marital sex
acts. A level two male discussant said:
1 used to stay in a BQ belonging o one staff in [3iochemistry Department. I le has a son who drugged a
remedial female student and slept with her the first night: The girl became pregnant and asked the boy to do
something. lie brought his friend (a medical student) to perform D&C, but the girl lost a lot of blood. The matter
became serious and his father was informed by his junior sister. His father took the girl to the hospital and he
sent out all of us in the BQ including his son with a warning to the son never to return to his house again.

Victims to Ritualists
As shown in Table I, 52% of the respondents believed that engaging in sex deviant act may lad one to
be victim of ritalists. Majority of the discussants in the entire FGD group opined that those who engage in pie-
marital sex become easy targets for ritual activities. Most people who were looking for human parts for ritual
purposes give huge amounts of money to greedy and materialistic students, who possibly would end up with
missing part or parts of his/her body or even his life. There were reported cases (as revealed by security
documents) involving students and this has been a matter of serious concern to the security division of the
university. A female discussant explained that any relationship based on money has no benefit because the
money cannot he there all the time. She said:
She is looking for money, the man is also looking for money and if she is unfortunate the man may use her for
rituals. A case of monkey going to the market and never returns.

XVII. Conclusion
In summary, the data from the security documents, focus groups and the sampled respondents concur
on the view that pre-marital sex may have its social and economic benefits, but at the end, it also comes with a
bitter experience. Female students are more vulnerable than male students because female students in some
instances think of sex as a way to show care, affection and love, with the possibility of marriage in future. They
perceive sex as a sign of commitment in a relationship. The consequences as revealed by the study include
unwanted pregnancy (68%). STIs/HIV/AIDs (93%), drug and alcohol consumption (32%) and abortion, all of
which are hereby seem to have biological effect in nature. The psychological consequences identified include
depression (68%). phobia (37%), guilt (38%), regrets (43%), bondage (23%) and stress. The social
consequences are loss of family support, loss of self respect (57%), corruption of character (71%), poor
academic performance 28% and alienation from peers, particularly room mates.
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Consequences of Pre-Marital Sex Among The Youth. A Study of University of Maiduguri
These consequences are in harmony with the finding of NDHS (2005), FGN (2000) in Nigeria. Ejue
and Effion (2005), Orji and Anikweze (1997) and lkpe (2003) in the University of Lagos which reveals that pre-
marital sex leads to various forms of venereal diseases, unwanted pregnancies, death through abortion, sacrifice
of educational opportunities among others. Malumfashi (2001), in his study on Adolescent Reproductive Health
problems, made similar observations where he noted that premature sexual intercourse results in undesired
pregnancies, unsafe abortions and STIs.
Thus, the consequences are thus biological (unwanted pregnancy, abortion, STIs and barrenness).
Psychological (depression, phobia, guilt, regrets and stress), and social (loss of family support, poor academic
performance, loss of self-respect, corruption of character, drug use, bondage and alienation from the larger
society). Students who engage in pre-marital sex are likely to stiffer negatively from long term physical,
emotional, social and moral consequences than students who choose not to engage in it. Pre-marital sex is thus
riddled with multiple emotional and mental consequences.

XVIII. Recommendations
I. The Nigerian University Commission (N.U.C) and the Federal Ministry of Education should develop a
curriculum on sex education for institutions of high learning. This will enable students to understand the
dangers associated with early sex and prepare them on how to manage sexual urges.
2. Government should tome out with a policy that will provide scholarship to students in the Universities on
regular basis up to graduation. This will assist students and make them concentrate on their studies
instead of going round and negotiating for sex for economic reasons.
3. Government should enforce dress codes in all higher institutions of learning through legislation. This will
reduce sexual urge, rape and temptations that are in some instances facilitated by provocative and sexy
dresses that some students put on.
In addition to the above, below are ways through which the University authority can overcome the
prevalence of pre-marital sex in the university:
1. The university should stop accommodating students of the same socio-economic background in one
room. Equally those who express interest of staying with specific individuals should not he honored.
2. The university authority should step up to its responsibility as a custodian of the students under their care,
and monitor the activities of campus social clubs and review the policy regulating the conduct of campus
social clubs.
3. The university should adhere strictly to its calendar of events and task departmental leaderships for its
effective implementation.
4. The university should revise its policies on room visitations that allow female students to visit male
students, from 6am to 10pm and conic up with rules governing sexual relationship on campus.
5 Security lights are to be provided at all areas that provide opportunities to students carry out their sex
activities coupled with effective security patrol.
6 Students should be encourage by the authorities to organize seminars, debates, symposia and other related
activities to help them build their academic potentials and resist deviant activities.
7. Parents should as a matter of responsibility, monitor and pay regular visits to their children in the
universities and provide them with basic materials that will make their stay comfortable.
8. ASUU. NASU, SUG, departmental and state associations should monitor their constituencies and
regularly organize workshops, seminars and conferences on sexual behavior in the University community
and (he society in general.

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